Will You Shut Up
by sweetheartbreaker
Summary: The demigod glared at the onagers like he wanted to burn them down with fire from Tartarus. And Will would love to oblige him. He was not the son of the sun god for nothing. (The Blood of Olympus rewritten in the eyes of Will Solace.)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own rights to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series.

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Blood of Olympus. Set on Chapter 45 until the end of the book. Read on your own risk (but who am I kidding? We've probably all read the books by now. You won't be here if you didn't want any more Solangelo, wink wink.)

...

 **WILL YOU SHUT UP  
** _A Heroes of Olympus fanfiction_

 **Pt 1**

Will Solace had now, officially, seen everything in his life. Although, that was probably an overstatement since he was _a demigod_ so he was sure he would be surprised every single second in his life. Especially being a child of Apollo who was the god of _a lot of things_ (weirdness included) and a healer himself (capture the flag is not one of Will's most favorite occasions), but right that moment, he was sure he has seen everything.

Tyson appeared from nowhere and came running across the camp to the cabins on his full height. He was carrying a satyr who was holding a battered looking baseball bat on one hand and a harpy flapping her wings was perched on his head. The trio looked like a a redhead cheerleader who signed up for a sorority initiation. Or a high school mascot gone rouge. Or the weird Hawaiian towers Apollo loved describing in Haiku during summer.

It was still dark out, and he could barely see them even with his superb eyesight (it was still unfortunate that he didn't have X-ray vision he'd been bargaining for with Apollo for years since he didn't have his father's other fighting abilities) if it weren't for the eerily green lights casted by the skulls from the Hades cabin. Well, the rest of the cabins' lights were also turned on, but since the cabin was empty, Will thought it was worth noting.

Tyson shrunk back to his normal size and it was just then that Will recognized the satyr as Gleeson Hedge, guardian of Jason and Co. He more of heard the coach, rather than saw him, with all his cursing and demands for a something called a Melanie. That was not the weird part. It was Clarisse La Rue running out of the Ares Cabin in her full armor yelling obscenities about the female curse and how Athena had it best then tackling Tyson to wrestle with the satyr. Will thought she was wrestling with him, until he realized she gave him a huge hug before carrying him to the Ares Cabin like a football player.

Will blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure his coffee was not wearing out. Unfortunately, he was still wide awake. He just finished taking inventory of their supplies in the infirmary aka Apollo's Cabin, when the need arouse.

The whole camp was on its toes the past days with the Roman army camped just past Thalia's tree. Clarisse took the lead as the head counselor of the Ares cabin. That meant rallying up the troops. Planning with Malcolm from Athena cabin. Strengthening their lines of defenses. Urging Hephaestus to make more dangerous weapons. Personally though, Will thought Clarisse just liked being in charge of everything. Clarisse always wanted to be in control, especially in the events of a war. Will wondered if there was still lingering guilt from the Titan War. Clarisse was too proud then, even when Apollo Cabin held their white flag.

Clarisse suddenly got out of the cabin again as if she read his thoughts and was barreling towards him as if he stole her football and she was wiling to call upon the blessing of Ares to get it back. Will screamed like a girl, threw his coffee cup above his head and ran the opposite way.

"WILL ,WHERE IN THE NAME OF ARES ARE YOU GOING?!" Clarisse bellowed from behind him.

"Anywhere away from you!" Will cried, but as he expected, Clarisse tackled him to the ground, and pinned him on his legs. Will tried to wriggle away, raising his hand in the air. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I don't think you're proud and annoying!"

"What are you talking about?" Will realized Clarisse was already standing up, and he was still undulating like a literal worm. "Mellie's contractions are getting worse. She's about to give birth any second now and the Apollo kid on watch fainted."

"Gods," Will muttered, half in relief, as he helped himself up, and followed Clarisse to the Ares cabin. _Mellie not Melanie_ , he realized. The coach's cloud wife. Will always thought of her as a cloud, especially since the place where her stomach would have been was so bloated she could have passed of as a cloud… or a balloon.

Like he thought, he had _not_ seen everything yet.

The Ares cabin was different to the Apollo cabin, to say the least. He didn't want to dwell on fact that he couldn't name a least a quarter of the traps that was laid all over the cabin. Being with the head counselor didn't even give Will any assurance of safety.

But then again, that wasn't the _everything_ Will saw.

It was the coach kissing the cloud nymph. It would have been a beautiful sight… if it wasn't a satyr French kissing a cloud. Will's eyes bugged out of his head, and he could feel the coffee climbing his throat. He swallowed to keep it down.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Mellie cried out in pain and the slurping stopped. Clarisse pushed Will towards Mellie, and he knelt down in front of her. He advised the coach to hold Mellie's hand while his senses sharpened and his instincts went to overdrive as he was in his zone.

Will definitely didn't want to describe what a baby satyr looked like coming out of a female cloud's private part. It didn't help that the baby satyr was already kicking, as if it did not want the help Will was offering. Will was already considering doing a cesarean section and was thinking about _how_ he could actually pull it off when Mellie gave a huge push that shook the whole Ares cabin, especially Will who then caught the baby as it slid out. Will asked for some water, and the clothe readied by the previous watcher from Apollo to clean the baby up.

The coach cried with actual tears, Will thought satyr cried grape juice for tears, as he carried the baby in his arms. He passed the baby to his mom and the coach clapped Will on his back. "You're not bad kid," the satyr told him. "An Apollo kid? A healer? Boy, it would have been nice to have you with our missions! Especially since the di Angelo kid kept passing out on us."

That brought Will back to Earth. Or Hades. Or wherever he should be at the moment. The shock of delivering the baby goat passed by easily when a certain son of Hades was mentioned.

"Nico, you mean?" Will raised an eyebrow.

Nico was one of the most powerful demigods Will knew, not even counting that he was a son of Hades. He'd seen him fight during the battle of Manhattan, alongside his father, _the actual Hades_ , and he didn't even go to the Apollo cabin to get healed after, which Will thought was both amazing and a total bummer. He didn't stalk Nico or anything. He was sure Nico was too cool for him. Always lounging about by himself, looking like he was always analyzing the whole camp, trying to figure out the secret of the world with his gaze… It's just a shame that his gaze always sought Percy's green eyes.

"… 3 days!" Coach Hedge was saying. Will caught bits and pieces of it, about how the seven demigods of the prophecy were on the way to kill the giants at the Acro-something place, and everybody getting powerful along the journey, not to mention the level to which the coach's killer kung fu skill grew. And then the part where they met the Roman praetor who was supposed to return the Athena Parthenos to the Camp.

Nico volunteered to take on the suicide mission himself because he was that kind of heroic, (Will knew he didn't actually value his life like a sad martyr), and shadow-travelled the statue from halfway across the globe. He was almost close to killing himself every time. Reyna, the praetor, had to lend her strength to Nico, although Will couldn't understand how, so they could travel the rest of the way. Will felt angry all of sudden at Nico who was willing to kill himself, not because he was that heroic, but because he actually wanted to die. And that Nico was willing to accept help from someone else. Will was all about helping people! He was a healer for Hades' sake! Then, the coach mentioned Nico passed out for three days to save their sorry butts, and Will's anger dissipated as soon as it appeared.

"Had to make my secret brew, you know. It was a good thing I was as smart as I was amazing at killing!" The satyr proceeded on showing Will his amazing skills which Will regarded politely.

"Where is he now then?" Will asked, noticing that the fainted Apollo kid was now on her feet, fussing over the baby, making up for the inconvenience she caused her head counselor.

"He's gone!" the coach said and Will almost struck an arrow on the satyr's neck, gift or no, when he realized he was actually talking about Pegasus, which was another part of the story that Will didn't catch anymore.

"No, I mean, Nico."

Coach Hedge rolled his eyes, as if remembering something Nico had done that annoyed him. "He volunteered to sabotage the onagers outside the camp. That kid is all about volunteering. I won't be surprised if he volunteered to strangle Gaia next. Or build houses for the cyclopes in New York. Or…"

"Clarisse, you said there would be a scouting group at the break of dawn?" Will said so suddenly, whipping around to look for Clarisse who was talking to the Hecate kid, Lou Ellen.

"That would be me!" Lou Ellen said. "And Cecil, and Marion."

"Marion!" Will clapped his hands at his brother, also a son of Apollo, while ignoring the son of Hermes and the daughter of Hecate, altogether. Marion had the mischief side of Apollo, along with the god's killer archery skills which would have made him a perfect attack scout for their mini-mission. "I need you to… _uh_ , ready my medicine kit for later."

Marion raised an eyebrow at his head counselor. Will was not below ordering his siblings around to get _a kit_. He immediately knew something else was in the air. "Sure. And you're going to sub for me?"

"You read my mind!" Will said in a sing-song voice.

"But… you're a _healer_ ," Lou Ellen said.

"I suppose you can heal yourself with your magic, daughter of Hecate?" Will said, his glare enough to make the daughter of magic tremble a bit. "I think not. Besides, I just held a baby satyr from a cloud nymph's womb. I need a different dose of adrenaline."

It was convenient that he and Marion were the same size, and even though it made the Ares kids uncomfortable, they exchanged clothes for Will to fit in the mission. He also hastily painted his face to make himself look legit, in case he saw Nico along the way, which was totally not the reason why he joined the scout.

Marion was giving him a different grin when he went off with his group, but he just stuck his tongue out his brother and let Lou Ellen do her trick.

"Dang," Cecil was saying as they duck-walked to the edge of the camp. "You can see their lines of defenses from here. Those Romans really know how to score a war."

"We're not here to cheer from them, dummy. It would be better if we manage to do as much damage as we can behind enemy lines," Lou Ellen was saying, surprisingly calm even while maintaining the Mist. Will didn't know what they look like to anyone who was looking their way, or maybe he just didn't care because he was too busy looking for something… or someone.

"Nico's going to be thinking of disabling the onagers. Oh, _dear Apollo_ , he'll be thinking of strangling and killing Octavian while eating his breakfast in his tent," Will was saying, blaming the frustration and irritation in his voice because of the itchy clothes he was wearing. He would have to talk to Marion about washing his clothes once in a while. His clothes could be a good bacterial habitat.

Will could feel Lou Ellen's smile even without looking at her. "Oh, Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades. Heard he's all you've been talking about in the Apollo cabin, Will."

"Shut it, Lou Ellen," Will said.

Lou Ellen giggled. "You know, some Aphrodite kids even have their sights on him. Heard he was brooding and quiet and an anti-hero sort of guy. He must be good looking too if you have your eyes on him."

"Are we still invisible to everyone else?" Will asked Lou Ellen, not allowing him to get distracted. "Or I swear on the Styx I will…"

"Oooooh, swearing on the Styx," Lou Ellen continued teasing. "You're gonna own half of it when you get him? Hey, can you make sure I get to Elysium when I die?"

"That's a great idea! Count me in!" Cecil said.

"Why am I stuck with two dorks?"

"Because you wanted to see di Angelo?"

"Obviously not!"

"A pity," Lou Ellen said with feigned pain. "I have never seen Nico di Angelo before. Now my expectations are too high. I hope he doesn't disa-"

"Look there!" Cecil said so suddenly Will almost tripped flat on his face on the ground. He was pointing at Thalia's tree which someone was holding on to, clinging on for dear life. "He… he appeared from nowhere."

Will squinted, not even bothering to use his brother's binoculars, and knew immediately that he was looking at the son of Hades. "You sure you want to see Nico di Angelo, Lou Ellen?"

The tone of his voice must have surprised the poor girl. "Uh…"

"I'm pretty sure you'll find Nico to be more than anything you can ever expect. Have you ever met another child of Hades?" Will glanced behind him to give Lou Ellen a smile that would have made Apollo proud. Lou Ellen shook her head. "Hold on to your magic then and pray to your mom, because we have to hope he won't use Hades on us."

What Will actually prayed to his father for was that Nico would actually recognize him. Nico's loyalty was unquestionable. He'd do anything to follow Percy Jackson. Which included saving the world and dying in the process. Anyone who was watching him for a while would notice… not that Will did.

Will was more concerned that Nico wouldn't know who he was. They were never really officially introduced, although they have met each other a few times. Everyone knew who Nico di Angelo was… Everyone who knew Percy and Annabeth knew who Nico was, which was, of course everyone (who didn't know about Percy Jackson?).

But Will Solace, that's another story. He wasn't really a standout, especially since he wasn't really cut out for battle and spent most of his time tending the injured rather than being injured. He didn't even get Apollo's artistic side, which was a bummer since art could actually win anyone's heart over. Even someone whose heart was as dark as the Styx. No subliminal message intended.

They crawled to were Nico was, and Will watched as the demigod glared at the onagers like he wanted to burn them down with fire from Tartarus. And Will would love to oblige him. He was not the son of the sun god for nothing.

...

 _(a/n: I haven't read the Trials of Apollo yet, but the second book's been recently released, and I already saw some people complaining that there were too little Solangelo in the books. And that it feels like Solangelo was rushed... etc. I won't give out too much details since I don't want any more people to get spoiled that they already are (don't spoil me, or i'll kill you no joke). This is just my humble contribution to the fandom who wants more of Solangelo._

 _I'm actually not sure of how long I'm going to draw out this fanfic. I originally thought of making it one-shot but this one is already too long. Probably two more chapters? I'm not a fan of AUs and I'm more likely to go canon especially after reading ToA... but who knows?_

 _Thank you for reading! Leave some love before you go! heart heart_

 _xo, sweetheartbreaker)_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own rights to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series.

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Blood of Olympus. Set on Chapter 45 until the end of the book. Read on your own risk (but who am I kidding? We've probably all read the books by now. You won't be here if you didn't want any more Solangelo, wink wink.)

...

 **WILL YOU SHUT UP  
** _A Heroes of Olympus fanfiction_

 **Pt 2**

Lou Ellen should have laughed at him when Nico pointed his Stygian blade on his neck, but like anyone who just met the son of Hades, she was dumbstruck, either by fear or admiration. Will could remember feeling both.

"Put that down!" Will said, not actually scared about Nico's blade. He was actually pleased with himself that Nico looked surprised to see him... and that he recognized who he was. _Thank Apollo._ "What are you doing here?" Will said, having nothing else to ask, even though he knew why Nico was there.

"Me?" Nico asked, sounding irritated. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Will expected more of a welcome that this, but he was already pleased that they were talking. "Hey, we're scouting the enemy," he said. "We took precautions."

Will was suddenly conscious of what he was wearing when Nico looked at him from top to bottom then to top. Then he realized how stupid he must have looked that moment, even before Nico told him his mistakes. "You're dressed in black with the sun coming up. You painted your face but didn't cover that mop of blond hair. You might as well be waving a yellow flag." That must have been why Marion was looking at him funny a while ago. He was _obviously not_ a good scout.

Nico's eyes were piercing. And he was right. Will felt his face get warm. So much for impressions. "Lou Ellen wrapped some Mist around us, too," he said, trying to get the rest of his team in the conversation.

Fortunately, Lou Ellen got over the shock of meeting the son of Hades and managed to say "Hi." even if it was a little shaky. Will couldn't blame her. Even with the loud print shirt, which was off for Nico (Will was sure he almost always wore black), and the jacket, Nico looked... _amazing_ wouldn't cover it. He was a paradox. He was a lot skinnier than the last time Will saw him, but he stood taller and looked stronger. His gaze didn't waver, and was sure more than anything else, so unlike the brooding anti-hero Lou Ellen described him as.

Will was going to shut down the Aphrodite cabin if they ever...

 _What the hell was he thinking?_

"You're Nico, right? I've heard a lot about you." _Thank you, Lou Ellen_ , Will cursed. "And this is Cecil from Hermes cabin." Will almost jumped when Cecil wave and said nothing else. He was surprised other two scouts kept quiet, but then again, there were there for something else, and it was not for Will's love life.

 _Again, what the hell was he thinking?_

Nico scooted closer to them. "Did Coach Hedge make it to camp?"

The memory of the delivery resurfaced that Will wasn't able to answer, and was saved by Lou Ellen's careful giggle. "Did he ever."

Will wasn't sure if Lou Ellen was trying to help him, or something else. Lou Ellen wasn't usually nervous even around new people. Maybe the son of Hades just had that effect on people. He elbowed Lou Ellen lightly, half to encourage her conversation, half to get her to stop.

"Yeah. Hedge is fine. He made it just in time for the baby's birth," Will said.

"The baby!" Nico cried so suddenly, the three jumped. His grin was so wide, Will wondered if her ever grinned that way before. Nico should keep grinning that way, Will thought. His eyes lit up, and his whole face brightened. It's almost as if the sun was already out. "Mellie and the kid are all right?"

Then the memory of the delivery resurfaced again, Will couldn't help but shake his head. "Fine. A very cute little satyr boy," Will said with a shudder. "But I delivered it. Have you ever delivered a baby?"

Nico blinked. "Um, no."

Will talked a lot when he was nervous. And he had to make sure Nico knew _he_ delivered the baby, and there _was_ a reason he needed to scout. "I had to get some fresh air. That's why I volunteered for this mission. Gods of Olympus, my hands are still shaking. See?"

He reached for Nico's hand, which the other demigod quickly withdrew with a glare. It was a split second, but Will felt Nico's waning strength with his healer hands. He wanted to confirm the Coach's story, and, well, Will also wanted to touch Nico's hand.

"Whatever," Nico snapped. "We don't have time for chitchat. The Romans are attacking at dawn and I've got to –"

 _Here he goes again._ Will almost rolled his eyes. "We know. But, if you're planning to shadow-travel to that command tent, forget it."

"Excuse me?"

Will felt a surge of over-protection over Nico. It probably came with him being a healer, since he didn't want anyone to die if he can do something about it. And he also didn't want _Nico_ to die. He was very specific about that part. "Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow-travel. You can't try that again."

"I just did try it again, Solace. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I'm a healer. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you'd be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn't make it. One more slip, and you won't come back. You are not shadow-travelling. Doctor's orders."

"The camp is about to be destroyed–," Nico tried, but Will was already well over it.

"And we'll stop the Romans," he said. "But we'll do it our way. Lou Ellen will control the Mist. We'll sneak around, do as much damage as we can to those onagers. But no shadow-travel."

"But –"

"No."

Will figured Nico could still very well decapitate him there and then, he was still very much able to. But Nico held his gaze. Will was sure he never had someone talk back at him before, and Will was proud to be one who shut down Nico di Angelo. Of course, it was only because he needed to save his life.

Nico sighed and broke eye contact, looking more annoyed than anything, then gazed upon Camp Half-Blood as if he remembered something. Camp Half-Blood was any demigod's home, even Nico's. Will was about to say some comforting words about the camp's safety when Nico spoke again.

"Whatever. But we have to hurry. And you'll follow my lead."

Will nodded. That was good a deal than anything. "Fine. Just don't ask me to deliver any more satyr babies and we'll get along great."

The group ducked and somehow made it to the first onager when suddenly there was a squabble behind enemy lines. Will saw Romans crying over the shouts of centaurs and other monsters, waving their weapons, as if looking for a fight.

It did not look good. Even if the current war was against the Romans, Will did not want _any_ demigod dead. The _real_ war was against Gaia, after all.

Lou Ellen looked concerned. "What's going on down there?" she asked.

Nico didn't even cast the chaos a second glance. "That's my distraction. Come on."

The guards of the ongaer left their post to see what the commotion was about, leaving the group free to do what they could without anyone watching ahead.

"I brought some Greek fire," Cecil whispered.

"No," Nico said. "If we make the damage too obvious, we'll never get to the other ones in time. Can you recalibrate the aim – like, towards the other onagers' firing lines?"

Cecil was impressed with Nico's idea. "Oh, I like the way you think. They sent me because I excel at messing things up." Will could only shake his head.

The rest of the group stood guard while Cecil did his work.

The Fourth Cohort joined the Fifth with the brawl that was evolving. No one seemed to want to back down, so the officers were having trouble shouting over the growls and roars of two-headed men they were working up against.

It almost felt like forever, but Cecil stretched from where he was bent and whispered, "All right. Let's move."

The group tried to move discreetly. The next onager was across the hillside, and some Legionnaires were still on guard. The Mist didn't work as the first time. "Hey!" one of the guards yelled.

Will couldn't think of any more distractions than himself, so he gave a cue and walked out of reach of Lou Ellen's magic. It would be heroic, and slightly stupid, Will thought belatedly. He tried to run faster, but he was not built athletically anyway, so he just might die then and there.

He was already wondering what haiku Apollo would write on his epitaph, probably something along the lines of:

 _Here lies Will Solace_

 _Hero, killed by the Romans_

 _'Coz he was stupid_

when there suddenly was grunting noises behind him. He turned to find Nico standing over a pile of Romans who didn't look injured at all. Only passed out.

Will could have kissed him right there- but, then, of course not. Will was a gentleman, and Nico _did_ just save his life. He settled for punching his shoulder instead. "Thanks for the assist. Six at once isn't bad."

Nico looked more than pissed. "Not bad? Next time I'll just let them run you down, Solace."

Will's smile didn't waver. "Ah, they'd never catch me."

They caught Cecil's signal and joined the other two to march on the next onager.

Unfortunately, Nico's distraction was beginning to dissolve. The ranking officers were beginning to gain control of the situation, and even the monsters seem to heed advice, even though there were still a lot of pushing and trying to act superior between both camps.

Another unfortunate event, Will noticed the First Cohort guarding the third onager , and they looked closer and more alert than the first guards of the earlier machines they sabotaged.

Will expected the shout of the guards when it came.

"There!"

"They're expecting an attack now. The Mist doesn't work well against alert enemies," Lou Ellen vented, then turned to Nico. "Do we run?"

"No," he replied. "Let's give them what they expect."

Will was about to ask what he meant by that when Nico stretched his hands, and suddenly skeletons were clawing out of the earth in front of the Romans. Will rolled his eyes. _So much for shutting down Nico di Angelo_ , Will sighed as he went to catch the son of Hades before he fell.

"You idiot," Will said. He tried to make Nico comfortable, but he could only do so with an arm around him. His skin felt cold to touch, and he was already looking paler than a minute ago. "I told you no more of that Underworld magic."

"I'm fine." Nico tried to push him away, but he was too weak, and Will held him tighter.

"Shut up. You're not." He reached for his pocket for the handy gum he always carried around. He unwrapped one and handed it to Nico. "Take this."

"You want me to chew gum?"

Will hated it when people questioned his talents. Still, he explained. "It's medicinal. Should keep you alive and alert for a few more hours."

Nico frowned, but did what he was told. "Tastes like tar and mud."

You look like a baby, Will thought, but "Stop complaining," was what Will said.

"Hey." Will looked over to find Cecil and Lou Ellen running towards them, Cecil with a little limp. Will would have fussed over him, too, if Nico wasn't such a dramatic hero.

"You guys kind of missed the fight," Cecil continued and gestured behind them to the roped Romans along with the skeleton guys Nico summoned.

"Thanks for the skeletons," Lou Ellen said. "Great trick."

"Which he won't be doing again," Will looked at Nico pointedly.

Nico glared at Will before pushing himself up to standing position. Will almost wished the gum didn't do its job too quickly. "I'll do what I need to," Nico said.

Will could only roll his eyes. "Fine, Death Boy. If you want to get yourself killed –"

"Do not call me Death Boy!"

Will was going to offer other alternatives to Death Boy, like Sad Martyr or Shadow King, when Lou Ellen cut him off.

"Um, guys –"

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"

Will turned to see the glory of the Roman defense line firsthand. The truth was, Will knew only a few things about combat and war strategy. (That was an Athena kid thing). But Will couldn't help but be impressed by the way the Roman soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, their shields making a locked line in front of them. It was disturbing to see monsters, cynocephali, among their ranks.

And in front of them, Will couldn't be mistaken. _Octavian_ , he thought with hatred.

The augur looked too fancy to be an augur, and too pleased to be leading an army besides demigods. "Well," he barked. "Graecus saboteurs. Tear them apart."

That must be the cue for the monsters to attack. But Will had another great idea, and this was backed up by science so it shouldn't be as stupid as the first one. He gave his best whistle, the one he learned to use in case of emergencies. Like this one.

The cynocephali, dog-men, dropped their weapons, grabbed their ears and fell down in agony.

"Dude." Cecil said with a frown. "What the actual Hades? A little warning next time."

Will tried to act nonchalant, and shrugged. "It's even worse for the dogs. One of my few musical talents. I do a really awful ultrasonic whistle."

Nico didn't waste time and stabbed the dog-men with his sword, quickly and quietly ending the supposed battle.

The Romans were still stunned.

"My – my elite guard!" Octavian cried. "Did you see what he did to my elite guard?"

Nico raised his sword and took a step forward. "Some dogs need to be put down. Like you."

Will almost clapped his hands. Nico's bravery and charisma was admirable. The First Cohort must have felt it too, because they looked genuinely frightened for a moment because of one demigod in a loud print shirt.

"You will be destroyed!" Octavian yelled. "You Graeci sneak around, sabotaging our weapons, attacking our men–"

Cecil joined Nico in the ranks. "You mean the weapons you were about to fire at us?" he asked.

"And the men who were about to burn our camp to ashes?" added Lou Ellen.

"Just like a Greek!" Octavian shrieked, waving his hands. "Trying to twist things around! Well, it won't work!" He turned to the cohort. "You, you, you and you. Check all the onagers. Make sure they're operational. I want them fired simultaneously as soon as possible. Go!"

Four Romans ran.

Will watched as Octavian walked towards Nico, acting all high and mighty. Will almost wished Nico was strong enough to summon even another skeleton just to shut up this jerk. But Nico only looked calm.

"Tell me, son of Pluto," Octavia said, "why are you helping the Greeks? What have they ever done for you?"

 _Hades_ , actually, Will thought, but stayed silent.

"I'm helping the Greeks and the Romans," Nico replied.

Octavian snorted. "Don't try to con me. What have they offered you–a place in their camp? They won't honor their agreement."

"I don't want a place in their camp. Or in yours. When this war is over, I'm leaving both camps for good."

The sound that escaped Will was unworthy of a child of Apollo. "Why would you do that?"

Nico looked surprised that he spoke, but only continued. "It's none of your business, but I don't belong. That's obvious. No one wants me. I'm a child of –"

 _Now , he's done it._

Will wasn't supposed to talk about it yet, but at one point he decided that he should make sure Nico felt welcome in Camp Half-Blood. It was _their_ home after all.

Will exploded. He started talking and couldn't get himself to stop. "Oh, please. Nobody at Camp Half-Blood ever pushed you away. You have friends – or at least people who would like to be your friend. You pushed yourself away. If you'd get your head out of that brooding cloud of yours for once –"

"Enough!"

 _I wasn't finished, yet_ , Will thought angrily and shot a glare at Octavian who spoke.

"Di Angelo, I can beat any offer the Greeks could make. I always thought you would make a powerful ally. I see the ruthlessness in you, and I appreciate that. I can assure you a place in New Rome. All you have to do is step aside and allow the Romans to win. The god Apollo has shown me the future –"

That was _it_. Will shoved Nico to face Octavian. "No. _I_ am a son of Apollo," he pointed to himself first before stabbing Octavian with a finger. "You anaemic loser. _My father_ hasn't shown anyone the future, because the power of prophecy isn't working. But this –" He gestured behind Octavian, towards the _great_ army the legacy of Apollo seemed to be bragging about. "This is not what Apollo would want!"

"You lie. The god told me personally that I would be remembered as the saviour of Rome." Will saw it, some crazed greed behind Octavian's eyes. He saw that he believed what he was saying, and, Will thought in horror, he might actually be saying the truth. "I will lead the legion to victory, and I will start by –'

The onagers fired, all of them at once. The ground shook as they did and six miniature suns sailed across the sky.

"By destroying the Greeks! The days of Camp Half-Blood are over!"

Octavian's words rang in Will's ears. Had Apollo really been speaking with this maniac, instead of _any_ of his children or even Rachel Dare, the god's own Oracle of Delphi? Had he really promised Octavian victory over the Greeks? How could he?

Will almost believed it before he realized Cecil had done his job tremendously. The trajectory of the first three onagers caught up with the rest of the comets and they exploded in the air like over-excited golden fireworks. _No_ , Will beamed as the sky cleared. _Not today._

"NO! NO, NO!" Octavian screamed. "RELOAD!'"

It was not the first time today that they had the Romans stunned, and Will was beginning to think it was a good day. He saw Nico di Angelo. He held Nico's hand. He caught Nico when he fell... It would be a great day to die as any.

The Fifth Cohort marched up towards them, with a Centurion in front. He glanced at Nico with respect before turning to Octavian. "Octavian!" he called. "We have new orders."

"Orders?" Octavian looked like he might go into cardiac arrest soon. Will was not sure if he wanted to help when that happened. "From whom? Not from me!"

"From Reyna." The name rippled across the cohorts, and they took that name in with reverence. Will recognized it as the name of the true leader of the Legion. Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. "She's ordered us to stand down."

Octavian was not swayed. "Reyna?" he laughed. "You mean the outlaw I sent you to arrest? The ex-praetor who conspired to betray her own people with this Graecus?" He pointed at Nico. "You're taking orders from her?"

The ranks of the Fifth Cohort was steady, but they didn't look comfortable facing their own.

The Centurion almost looked insulted. "Reyna is the praetor until voted otherwise by the Senate."

"This is war!" Octavian screamed. "I've brought you to the brink of ultimate victory and you want to give up? First Cohort: arrest Centurion Dakota and any who stand with him. Fifth Cohort: remember your vows to Rome and the legion. You will obey me!"

 _This is not what Apollo would want._

Then and there, Will Solace knew that his words were true. Apollo would give Octavian victory, but it was for another battle, Will realized. And if Octavian didn't realize it... "Don't do this, Octavian," Will warned. "Don't force your people to choose. This is your last chance."

Octavian's grin was filled with madness, and no talk will convince him anything else. "My last chance? I will _save Rome_! Now, Romans, follow my orders! Arrest Dakota. Destroy these Graecus scum. And reload those onagers!"

Will heard them before he turned. The Greeks, with Clarisse in the lead, appeared above Half-Blood Hill. The last time all of Camp Half-Blood stood together like that, it was the end of the world at the foot of Mount Olympus. Here they were again, another end of the world. And yet, Will thought, they were facing the wrong enemies.

"Romans, you have fired on our camp! Withdraw or be destroyed!" Clarisse raised her spear, and she did look like a proud leader on her blood-red chariot pulled by metal horses.

Will retracted what he told Clarisse earlier. She was still proud and annoying.

That only seemed to fuel Octavian's claims. "You see? It was a trick!" he yelled. "They divided us so they could launch a surprise attack. Legion, cuneum formate! CHARGE!"

But everyone didn't seem to see what Will was seeing. They didn't have Will's superb eyesight, after all, but it was almost daylight and it was awfully hard to miss. He didn't miss a beat and blew the worst ultrasonic whistle he could muster. Demigods from both sides groaned and dropped their weapons.

"Don't be stupid! Look!' He pointed just fast enough to see another grin from the son of Hades. The Athena Parthenos was magnificent, flying suspended on pegasi, but Nico di Angelo's grin, Will could stare at for ages and still believed would be magnificent.

Nico didn't see him staring, which was alright, because, _gods_ , that would be embarrassing! But the Death Boy continued to stand in awe at, Will thought suspiciously, the praetor who lead the winged horses, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano who rode on Guido's back. Her sword was raised and her bright purple cloak billowed behind her. Will decided that she too, was magnificent.

The statue landed on top of the hill, a little far away from Thalia's tree, and stood between both armies, and Reyna's pegasi flitted beside it. "Greek demigods!" Her voice radiated power, and Will was sure everyone, _everyone_ heard it loud and clear. "Behold your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongly taken by the Romans. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace!"

A wide gold light shone from the statue and blanketed the valley of Camp Half-Blood. Magical. Powerful. But also peaceful and comforting. Will was reminded of all of his good memories in the camp, not just because of the little black-wearing-you-know-who standing beside him, but with his brothers and sisters and all the training they've done. The lessons and games. The friendships and families that were built and brought together. This was _home_.

How he prayed Nico could feel the same way.

"Romans!" Reyna yelled. "I do this for the good of the legion, for the good of Rome. We must stand together with our Greek brethren!"

Nico surged forward. "Listen to her!" he yelled.

 _Gods, this boy_ , was what Will thought. Surely, _surely_ , Camp Half-Blood was Nico's home, too.

"Reyna risked her life for all of you!" Nico continued. "We brought this statue halfway across the world, Roman and Greek working together, because we must join forces. Gaia is rising. If we don't work together –"

 _YOU WILL DIE._

That was the answer of the earth. Winds raced across the hill, knocking over weapons from the hands of those who were standing. The ground they were standing on sloshed and turned, almost like angry arms trying to pull them down.

 _A FUTILE GESTURE. BUT, IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY, YOU MAY DIE TOGETHER._

"No..." It was almost a whisper, but then Octavian repeated it and stumbled backwards. "No, no..." He rushed back and pushed through his troops, and much as Will tried to follow with his eyes where he went, he was also struggling with his feet.

"CLOSE RANKS!" Reyna yelled.

The Greeks and Romans stood shoulder to shoulder for the first time in all of history to fight a common enemy that they had almost no means to defeat.

Gaia was awake.

The monsters Octavian originally intended to help moved to surround the demigod troops, which was even though a great army together, still stood no match against the earth and its children. This would be a final battle, a great cry of the half-bloods, both Greek and Roman, as defiance to death because of the Earth.

Will took one look at the son of Hades, a rainbow-colored spot that stood out in the army of monsters, and armored Greeks and Romans and decided yes, today was a good day to die as any.

...

 _(a/n: 2nd part is done! I actually hoped to finish the part of the book until the end of the chapter, so that on Pt 3, I could go creative again and you know, more Solangelo to get my feels going, but... like, this is already 4k+ words, so I don't know if you would like to read a chapter longer than that. I know I don't. I hope you don't mind me extending the whole thing. :_

 _I decided to update every TH! Yay! Thank you for reading and drop some love before you go~. Thanks to **SolangeloUniverse** for reviewing the previous chapter!_

 _xo, sweetheartbreaker)_


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